Image processing apparatuses such as electronic cameras which photograph, record, and reproduce still images and moving images using a memory card having a solid-state memory as a recording medium have already been available in the market. There are also apparatuses which reproduce and display still images and moving images recorded in a recording medium on an electronic viewfinder such as a color liquid crystal panel.
Recently, as recording media such as memory cards have increased the storage capacity, a memory card can store a large amount of images. At the same time, many directories can be generated in the memory card (e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-112708).
In a case where such conventional image processing apparatus is started to reproduce and display an image stored in a memory card storing a large amount of images and directories, searching an image in the memory card takes time. As a result, the apparatus requires a long time before it can accept a next operation such as button depression, thus causing inconvenience.